Ellen Beyaert

Ellen Beyaert is a Researcher at Ghent University's Department of Literary Studies, affiliated with the Centre for the Study of 19th-Century Literature (CEL19) and Studiecentrum voor Experimentele Literatuur (SEL). She completed her PhD in 2021 with a dissertation titled De Wekkers van Vlaanderen: De Traditie van de Vlaamse Sociaal-Kritische Roman van 1848 tot 1980.

Her research specializes in cognitive literary studies and narrative empathy within Flemish social-critical novels (1848-1980), examining industrial worker conditions through frameworks from theorists like Lisa Zunshine and Suzanne Keen. Key focus areas include:

• Rhetoric of empathy in social protest literature
• 19th-20th century Flemish novel traditions
• Representations of class struggle and disease
• Works of Walter van den Broeck and Cyriel Buysse

Her publications consistently explore empathy mechanisms in Dutch-language literature, with recurring analysis of social critique methodologies in Flemish works. Recent articles examine political epistolary fiction, disease metaphors, and experimental narrative forms.

Teaching activities include co-instructing Nederlandse Letterkunde V: Literaire experimenten in de jaren zestig en zeventig (2018-2019) at Ghent University.